UAE urges international community to find lasting solutions for Rohingya Muslim minority

posted on 29/09/2013: 1432 views

New York: The UAE has expressed concern over the acts of violence which target the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, and demanded the international community encourage the government of Myanmar to carry out its duty to put an end to these acts which contradict the basic principles of human rights, as well as to help the Rohingya restore their rights as a Muslim Minority in Myanmar.

The UAE also re-affirmed that it will continue to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of violence in Myanmar and to defend the legitimate rights of the Muslim minority in the country.

This came in the UAE's statement at the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Rohingya, held in New York, USA, under the chairmanship of Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of OIC, on the margins of the 68th United Nations General Assembly.

The UAE's statement at the OIC meeting in New York was read out by the Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organisations Affairs, Dr. Saeed Mohammed Al Shamsi.

The UAE official also demanded a unified and practical stance in order to motivate the United Nations and human rights bodies to take the necessary practical steps towards resolving the issue of the Rohingya Muslim minority and providing humanitarian and development aid.

This includes, according to the UAE statement, discussing the issue at the Human Rights Council, setting up of a fact-finding committee, continuous reporting on the issue by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and following up the issue by the UN Secretary General, as part of the UN's humanitarian and moral responsibilities, as well as backing all the aforementioned moves by a UN General Assembly resolution and any forms of international pressures towards finding a lasting solutions to the issue, preventing more sectarian conflicts and deterring extremists.

Thanking the OIC Secretary General for his efforts for the issue, Dr. Al Shamsi emphasised the need for coming up with practical recommendations and mechanisms to come up with a unified stance at the current UN General Assembly in order to find acceptable solutions to the issue of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar. – Emirates News Agency, WAM